Football reporter

New hope: Lucas Neill's signing with Watford gives him hope of playing at the World Cup. Photo: Getty Images

Lucas Neill's signing with Watford is unlikely to be enough for him to force his way into the Socceroos' squad for next month's friendly against Ecuador.

Neill, 35, has agreed to terms with the English Championship club until the end of the season, providing him with a fighting chance of making Australia's World Cup squad.

While many had written off his chances after former club Blackburn Rovers failed to offer a permanent position following a training stint, Neill has three months to hold down a starting place at Vicarage Road and find the club form that has recently proven elusive.

The Hornets are 12th in the Championship, three places below Blackburn, with 15 games left in the season.

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"I want to add my experience to the Watford squad and I'm hoping that some of my natural leadership skills can benefit the group here," Neill told the club's website. "I'm highly motivated to keep playing. There's still a huge passion within me for football. I've had experience in different territories across recent years."

After more than a decade in English football with Millwall, Blackburn, West Ham and Everton, Neill embarked on a journey through Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and took in a brief spell at Sydney FC before signing for Japanese club Omiya Ardija.

Despite his travels, Neill said he was still most familiar with the English game.

"I've spent 14 years of my career in England and my family are based here," he said. "I took up challenges in different countries because I wanted some new experiences, but this is a great chance for me to play at an excellent level and help Watford finish the season as strongly as possible."

While it's only a short journey across London from Watford to Millwall, where the Socceroos will face Ecuador on March 5, it is unlikely coach Ange Postecoglou will bend his own rules to accommodate Neill.

Postecoglou has publicly and repeatedly stated his commitment to only select those who are playing regularly. Neill's last full match at senior level was the Socceroos' win over Costa Rica in November, though he did play in an under-21 match for Blackburn Rovers.

Who replaces Neill as skipper is also up for grabs. While Mark Bresciano would be the natural choice, the veteran may decide just to concentrate on playing; his temporary ban for an illegal transfer has meant sitting out the past few months.

While he remains on the books of Qatari club Al-Gharafa, he has been staying in Melbourne with family recently and training with Melbourne Heart.

Other candidates for the captaincy include Tim Cahill, who has finalised his pre-season with MLS club New York Red Bulls, and two slightly younger options, Melbourne Victory skipper Mark Milligan and Crystal Palace captain Mile Jedinak.

Postecoglou is expected to blend a mix of established and new faces, as this is his last match to experiment before he selects his final World Cup squad in May. He will then get at least two friendly matches – seemingly South Africa in Sydney on May 26 and Croatia in Brazil on June 6 – to fine-tune his final starting team.

Some of the newer faces being touted for selection include Curtis Good, Jackson Irvine, Bailey Wright, Massimo Luongo and Tomaslav Mrcela, all scouted by Postecoglou during his recent European tour. Trent Sainsbury's knee problem prevents his involvement and, with England hovering, Liverpool left back Brad Smith remains undecided on his international future.

Tom Rogic is expected to be chosen despite suffering an ankle injury, the faultless form of Western Sydney's Matthew Spiranovic should earn him a long-awaited recall and Robbie Kruse's knee injury potentially opens the door for Brett Holman's return.

Players recently out of the mix, including Nikita Rukavytsya, Alex Brosque, Scott McDonald and Luke Wilkshire, will all face a nervous wait.

Adelaide's Osama Malik has also been touted as a bolter, with ex-Socceroos captain Craig Moore declaring him the "the most improved player in the country by a mile".

4 comments so far

Tim Cahill is the guy to lead the country, nobody else should be considered. This is a guy that lifts playing for Australia. He has never let us down, he want the job...and that should be the end of the matter. We will be stupid to pick anyone else.

Commenter

Mamboth

Location

Liverpool

Date and time

February 25, 2014, 4:19PM

Good news. Will never forgive him for his lazy tackle on Fabio Grosso. He may have taken a dive but lazy defending allowed a fullback to go deep into the box.

Commenter

Spike

Date and time

February 25, 2014, 10:04PM

Whatever Ange says and does will be right. This man is a very smart coach who knows the players and will get the best from them

Commenter

Aussie

Date and time

February 26, 2014, 5:47PM

Jedinak is my choice.Premier League Club Captain - doesn't get much better than that.